I may have really missed the boat on this one, but I was wondering about the former Amtrak E60P's. Last I heard, a good number had been sold to New Jersey Transit and a few were still around, albeit out of service.

Has anyone made an effort to save one of these things? While the E60's may not have half the grace of a GG1, they're still the first electrics ordered by Amtrak and are a part of our nation's rail history.

I have not heard of any organizations that are planning on purchasing one of the electrics, but I agree that it is a good idea.
I also wonder about the fleet of FL9s or even the FP40s. Does it seem too early to aquire and run/display an FP40?

Brian Hebert


Conway Scenic Railroad
btamper@hotmail.com

I think the E60s are worthy of preservation along with some of the early F40s. What about the MILW F40Cs that Metra will be disposing of? Frank, I sure hope that IRM gets a hold of one of those beasts. Also, I would hate to see one of Amtrak's first(and most beautiful) locomotives, the SDP40F to go into extinction. Has anyone tried to get a hold of one of these things before they are gone?

Mike Stickel
> I have not heard of any organizations that
> are planning on purchasing one of the
> electrics, but I agree that it is a good
> idea.
> I also wonder about the fleet of FL9s or
> even the FP40s. Does it seem too early to
> aquire and run/display an FP40?

> Brian Hebert


masticke@indiana.edu

> I may have really missed the boat on this
> one, but I was wondering about the former
> Amtrak E60P's. Last I heard, a good number
> had been sold to New Jersey Transit and a
> few were still around, albeit out of
> service.

> Has anyone made an effort to save one of
> these things? While the E60's may not have
> half the grace of a GG1, they're still the
> first electrics ordered by Amtrak and are a
> part of our nation's rail history.

I believe there are still three or four E60s still running out of Philadelphia. I see them every day although in the past two years I've noticed a major drop in seeing them in ther service area.

jtjjtb@aol.com

> I think the E60s are worthy of preservation
> along with some of the early F40s. What
> about the MILW F40Cs that Metra will be
> disposing of? Frank, I sure hope that IRM
> gets a hold of one of those beasts. Also, I
> would hate to see one of Amtrak's first(and
> most beautiful) locomotives, the SDP40F to
> go into extinction. Has anyone tried to get
> a hold of one of these things before they
> are gone?

Last I heard, IRM was planning to get either one or two of the NORTRAN (Northern Transportation District) F40C's that are now running on Metra. They are all still in everyday use, but Metra has placed an order for replacement F40PH's that should arrive in a year or two. At that time, Metra will be replacing all of their F40C's and also a few of their early F40PH's.
As for the SDP40F, it was my impression that they had all been scrapped. A bunch went to the Santa Fe after service on Amtrak, but they're not on the BNSF roster any more. Comments?

> I believe there are still three or four E60s
> still running out of Philadelphia. I see
> them every day although in the past two
> years I've noticed a major drop in seeing
> them in ther service area.

AMTRAK still has the 11 remaining HEP E60MA's 600-610)in service. The two non-HEP E60CP's (620-621) are out of service. The new HHP-8 motors are supposed to replace the E60's, but there's currently a motor shortage with diesels running under wire PHL-HBG, NHV-BOS and PHL-WAS.

It would be nice to save an E60. They never did what they were intended to do, but they found a niche in heavy pulling.


Electric City Trolley Museum Associ

> It would be nice to save an E60. They never
> did what they were intended to do, but they
> found a niche in heavy pulling.

I agree that someone should save one of these brutes. A good question, however, is who? There are precious few museums that could display such a locomotive in any sort of historical context. Most museums either don't have electric equipment, or they're "trolley" museums without main-line electrification equipment. A couple of museums that come to mind are the United Railroad Historical Society in New Jersey and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Would either of these organizations consider saving an E-60?

> I agree that someone should save one of
> these brutes. A good question, however, is
> who? There are precious few museums that
> could display such a locomotive in any sort
> of historical context. Most museums either
> don't have electric equipment, or they're
> "trolley" museums without
> main-line electrification equipment. A
> couple of museums that come to mind are the
> United Railroad Historical Society in New
> Jersey and the Railroad Museum of
> Pennsylvania. Would either of these
> organizations consider saving an E-60?
Speaking of electrics, does anyone know if the Muskingum Electric Railway is still in operation? If not what happened to the equipment? Thanks for any information

jjpfeil@worldnet.att.net